# Quick! Some Gealic Word help.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-some-gealic-word-help/343014 "2006-02-04T19:33:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-some-gealic-word-help/343014/1 "2006-02-04T19:33:42Z")
My wife is designing her tattoo that she’s gonna get done later today. In it, she wants the Gaelic for mother (Ma`thair) and son… and she’s not quite happy with using “Mac” as son, which is what she keeps coming across. Is there another acceptable word that means “Son” in Gaelic? For those that were interested, she’s getting a Motherhood Heart with the baby’s footprint in the middle, with the words “Mother” and “Son” making a band that will go around her ankle. Thanks for help! We’ve got about 2 hours before we head to the shop. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-some-gealic-word-help/343014/2 "2006-02-04T20:02:44Z")
Not sure what’s wrong with _mac_, which is the word you want, but here are some alternatives: _balach_: boy, lad, jack (in cards) _gille_: boy, fellow, lad _leanbh_: babe, baby, child [the word is grammatically masculine; to specify a female, you might use _leanbh-mnà_] I am not a native speaker, so take the following with a grain of salt, but my impression is that the first two are a bit more jocular and the last one is only used of very young children. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-some-gealic-word-help/343014/3 "2006-02-04T20:07:08Z")
… and also _pàiste_: child, kid ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-some-gealic-word-help/343014/4 "2006-02-04T20:12:49Z")
Sorry. My Angúm’s _Foclóir Póca_ shows only _mac_ for son and _máthair_ for mother. (_Maicín_ is a spoiled child, but I doubt that you really want that.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-some-gealic-word-help/343014/5 "2006-02-04T21:07:05Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Sorry. My Angúm’s _Foclóir Póca_ shows only _mac_ for son and _máthair_ for mother. _Foclóir Póca_ is Irish rather than Scottish Gaelic. Although in _m(á/à)thair_ the only difference is the direction of the accent, and in _mac_ the only difference is the pronunciation (maak vs. makh-k). ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-some-gealic-word-help/343014/6 "2006-02-05T03:05:00Z")
Thank you all! Sadly, right after I posted she came up with a sketch of her new idea. It’s the baby’s footprint, still, surrounded by a Celtic Motherhood Heart. It’s beautiful. I’ll try to link to a pic in the morning!